Senator can now run for re-election without shadow of a second criminal trial hanging over him

In an about-turn, the U.S. Department of Justice has abruptly abandoned its plan to retry U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez on bribery and corruption charges. Just 12 days ago the department had said it was going to pursue a case against him, after a trial late last year resulted in a hung jury.

In a curt statement of its revised plan, the DOJ cited last week’s decision by the judge in the case to dismiss several counts against Menendez and his co-defendant.